Just as a note: Mayhem has been given a pain med to take and she continues to be a happy little tornado of trouble. I'm looking into surgical options and I'm lucky enough that MSU college of vet med is nearby enough to get to if needed, and they can do hip surgeries and even full hip replacements on cats. So I'm hopeful that there's going to be options for her, even if they're looking to probably be expensive options. I always appreciate how supportive you guys are both emotionally and with stories from your own wonkily built cats (aren't these things supposed to be effortlessly graceful superpredators?? Maybe missed a memo on that) and she does have pet insurance, though I'm a little skeptical on how helpful they will actually be.
I may at some point do a Mayhem Bones Art Sale or something, i dunno. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now: she's a constant source of chaos, which is nothing new, but now we know that she's bad...to the bone.
Are you familiar with the beluga who underwent surgery at the Shedd aquarium? I would like to hear your thoughts!
Yes! I’m very fortunate to know several members of Kimalu’s team (which included 17 veterinarians in addition to their invaluable support staff*) and Kimalu herself! She’s a very sweet, very personable girl, and it was heartbreaking to hear she wasn’t doing well. For those unfamiliar with the case, Kimalu developed subcutaneous cysts around her blowhole that were causing her noticeable discomfort. It was determined that surgery was the best option for providing her relief.
The surgery itself was groundbreaking, but what’s even more miraculous is the anesthesia. General anesthesia was once considered impossible in cetaceans, due to their size and incredibly unique anatomy and physiology. For example, just intubating them requires manually dislocating the “goosebeak” (modified larynx that transects the esophagus) to allow for access to the trachea. That’s also why they can’t breathe through their mouth! Furthermore, they are voluntary breathers, and must be ventilated until conscious enough to breathe on their own again.
While general anesthesia has now been performed successfully a handful of times in smaller cetaceans, it had never been done in a beluga. In fact, Kimalu was only the second beluga in which anesthesia had even been attempted—and now, she is the first ever beluga to have woken up!
This is a gamechanger for belugas in human care (and maybe, somewhere down the road, in the wild). Now that we know surgery and anesthesia can be performed successfully, the scope of care we can provide them just got a whole lot wider. This is only the first step, but it’s a monumental one. And it goes to show the remarkable care zoos and aquariums provide their animals, as well as the contributions they make to scientific advancement.
You can read the full press release here:
On Tuesday, July 1, Kimalu, a 12-year-old beluga whale at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, underwent a first-of-its-kind surgery to remove a growin
Here are some pictures provided by Shedd, including Kimalu’s CT images:
*The veterinary team at Shedd Aquarium was joined by experts from Colorado State University, Innovative Veterinary Medicine, the Veterinary Specialty Center, Brookfield Zoo Chicago, SeaWorld, North Carolina State University, ZooRadOne, Indianapolis Zoo, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and Zoological Pathology Program, and Arthrex Vet Systems.
THE CASUALNESS OF THAT COLLIE SLIPPING RIGHT OUT OF THEIR COLLAR. That dude is a Willing Participant of this walk and by god everyone else is going to follow the RULES.
Fleas never really stop being an issue in vet med, but as we in the northern hemisphere are rapidly entering summer, it is once more kicking up in intensity.
In a perfect world, everyone should have their pets on prevention year-round and we'd never have to deal with them, but that's not an achievable outcome.
If your pet does have fleas, you need to treat all pets in the household with effective prevention for at least 3 months while managing the environment. Let me break that down a little further:
"all pets in the household" means every non-human mammal in the house. I don't care if you're only seeing fleas on your one dog - other dogs, cats, ferrets, bunnies, guinea pigs, etc all need to be treated too. All of them.
"effective prevention" unfortunately at least in the US probably means prescription medication, which means your pets have to have a current (generally within last 12 mo) exam on file with a veterinarian. Frontline and other fipronil- or pyrethrin/oid-based products available OTC have become largely ineffective in the last decade or so. I know it's more expensive to get prescription prevention. But I promise it's more expensive in the long run to spend money on products that don't work well and then still have to buy the good stuff afterwards.
"at least 3 months" is because of the flea life cycle and how prevention works. The stuff you give your pets kills the adult fleas when they bite, so they disappear and stop making more fleas. Flea eggs will continue to hatch for a couple months after that. If you treat for less than 3 months you will have the same fleas again. If you stop treating after 3 months you can get fleas again (just like you got them in the first place) but are not guaranteed to.
"managing the environment" means doing what you can to minimize the number of flea eggs that are around. This helps keep your pets comfortable (less itchy) and healthy (reduced risk of illness from fleas). Mostly I have people focus on good household hygiene like vacuuming and washing bedding frequently. If you do use a flea "bomb" product, read the packaging carefully first - most of these are toxic to pets and so have to keep pets out during and for a period of time following treatment.
ranking the best things I have had heard surgeons say mid-surgery:
"Five second rule!" while scrubbed, after dropping a sterile scalpel on the floor (no they did NOT pick it up again but I swear everyone's buttholes puckered)
(spoken during the closing of a particularly long and difficult case) "Nurse - my tunes." :heavy metal starts blasting:
Gently to a fretful patient, pre-anaesthesia: "It's going to be okay. I promise, I've dealt with worse."
As soon as the patient is unconscious: "This is literally the worst thing I've ever seen."
[okay this one was a med student] "Wowwww, that's so gross!!"
Reg: ""[xxx], "Please remember that the patient is awake for this procedure."
Student to patient: "Oh my god. I am so sorry, that was really unprofessional - "
Patient, cheerfully, also engrossed with what's happening inside them on the screen: "Nah - it's, like, super gross, right?"
[another procedure where the patient couldn't be anaesthetised]
Patient: *starts singing country roads midway through the procedure*
Surgeon: *shrugs and joins in with surprisingly good harmony*
i don't usually make posts like this, but this is a truly upsetting topic to me as a lifelong cat owner, so i feel i have a duty to share my knowledge with others.
there is a type of automatic litterbox for cats being sold that is EXTREMELY dangerous and has killed numerous cats through blunt force trauma, suffocation, etc. this litterbox is being sold under different brand names and logos, so i will include the picture of the model and two links to informational videos with more evidence and eloquence than i am able to provide.
please consider not having this type of litterbox in your home for your furry friends. me and my 16 year old tortie, puddy, want the best for all your kitty friends
image of litterbox below:
here are my two video links that provide proof and testimonials of this harmful product:
This Scam is Killing Cats by penguinz0
The DEADLY self-cleaning litter boxes that have flooded the market by One Man Five Cats
Visual notes from the video(s) for anyone who does not care to watch them: One Man Five Cats tested these with stuffed toys and his hand. The sensors* do not work properly, and for some reason the motor to rotate the door shut is way stronger than it needs to be and does not stop when it encounters resistance. The moving part would be pushing said obstacle against a solid base which has no safety feature of popping off or anything. 1M5C almost lost his hand, he visibly panics and has to use both hands to wrench his limb out from the death guillotine.
Basically when it tries to shut the door, the safety sensors don't work for shit, and there are zero backup safety features in case of something blocking the door. It will simply force the door shut regardless, the motor whining and straining against it.
Multiple animals have had their heads caught in this mechanism and in one case, the self-cleaning cycle trapped a small cat underneath it, causing suffocation.
Every time someone tries to warn others about the product via reviews or PSAs, the company simply wipes all product pages and comes back under a different name.
Hope this further description is useful for awareness of how god awful and gruesome these dropshipped review-evading products are.
(*the sensors work marginally better with a firmware update that you would have no way of knowing about without paying attention to the optional app, the company obviously does not try to make customers aware of this either)
(*Personal note: This is also extremely dangerous for households with babies and small children who might curiously stick a head or limb into the box!!!)
On July 27th our dear friend JD and her son Tyler lost their home & got out with only t… Stephenie Henry needs your support for Support JD a
I know I don't even have a lot of followers/I'm not very active on here but anyone that does follow me if you could please read this and hear me out I would be so grateful:
My boyfriend, the love of my life, (along with his mother and their dog) lost his home and a majority of his belongings on July 27th to a devastating fire. Unfortunately he is currently 600 miles away from me and does not have the funds to make the move up here.
His mom's coworker started a GoFundMe for them and there have been some gracious and kind donations so far but they need more support. I know times are tough for a lot of people right now, myself included, but it would mean so much to me even if whoever is reading this could just share this to hopefully get the word out.
I also do paintings both traditional and digital and if you would like to get something custom made in exchange for supporting us I would love to do so.
Pet peeve: animal rights activists who take advantage of people who aren't aware that pigs will scream bloody murder at literally anything
Sir that could be the most spoiled pig on earth who eats food out of its humans mouth and it will still let out a bloodcurdling squeal if said human were to pick it up, that's just pig antics
i’ve been inactive here lately due to both autistic & general burnout but i may be coming back. i’m moving in a few weeks and i just interviewed at a small animal practice after working mostly in research for a few years
I hope this wave of of strikes pushes the veterinary industry to unionise. As corporations like VCA and Banfield (both owned by MARS, yes the chocolate company) continue to buy out independent clinics, the industry is shifting away independent businesses founded and owned by DVMs to corporate franchises.
Working conditions in the industry have been abysmal for years. But everyone working under the same company + significant staff shortages (in canada both DVM and RVT positions typically take 6+ months to fill according to a report by the CVMA) does provide opportunity both for community-building and an advantage for bargaining or, if necessary, striking. Staff are not easily replaced.
We all know we're being overworked and underpayed. It's time to fucking do something about it. Talk about your wages with your coworkers, make sure you're being reimbursed for overtime, see if you're getting enough vacation days. Find out what you want and take it.
Some clinics have already unionized, I hope more will soon.
The creator of the original, the animal reference tool, made their own human reference tool which allows you to search based on different body parts and poses!
The filter is broken…today I had a client come in with two Ragdolls with diarrhea and intermittent vomiting. Of course she’s feeding raw. I looked her in the eyes and said…“Your cats are GMOs. They are not leopards hunting impala in the African savanna. They do not need a raw diet. Additionally, they are likely covered in Salmonella. You have two hairy raw chicken breasts wandering your house.” Bring on the complaint.
No. Giant no to the blatant false claim that vets are funded by purina and that means they push kibble.
Vets will ‘push’, and I a vet tech will ‘push’, kibble OR canned food from specific companies that do LIFETIME FEEDING TRIALS because they have PROVEN that animals can live long and healthy lives eating only that food if asked by an owner and even then typically we only actually actively ‘push’ with regards to diets that are for specific medical conditions. With the boutique foods, YOUR PET IS THE TEST ANIMAL because they DO NOT TEST.
How many of your commercial raw diets have done lifetime feeding trials? How many of them have hired boarded veterinary nutritionists? The answer is probably *none*. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Your pet is the test animal.
But mostly I’m fucking sick of that stupid claim that vets don’t get any nutrition training (hell, my vet tech course spent a couple weeks on that) and that they’re paid by the food companies to push dry food and all dry food is the devil. It’s wrong. You’re wrong. Everyone who says that is wrong. You’re all wrong.
Raw diets CAN be done, but you need to be in contact with a veterinary nutritionist to make sure you aren’t over or under providing nutrients.
